


A Clean House

by jibberjabber13



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Family Drama, Family Issues, Gen, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 09:30:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14808714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jibberjabber13/pseuds/jibberjabber13
Summary: It's been two years since her parents left without a trace, and Emily is tired of faking smiles and working to keep her and her sister afloat. As her relationship with her sister becomes strained, she wonders how much more she can take.





	A Clean House

**Author's Note:**

> This is just an idea I had bouncing around in my head. I feel like there's not a really lot of works out there exploring Emily's point of view, especially her relationship with her sister, and it's such an interesting dynamic to me that I felt inspired to write something. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading

Emily’s favorite time of night fell between one and two in the morning, when she and Gus would kick everyone out of the Stardrop Saloon and close down. They’d make small talk, but it was mostly a quiet sort of work, both of them wiping down counters and glasses with old blue rags they kept behind the bar.

She was polishing a wine glass, rubbing to get rid of all the fingerprints and pink lipstick stains—Marnie liked her white wines—when Gus asked her to stay a bit longer that night and finish the job herself.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, Em.” The affectionate nickname had become his standard greeting for her, a fondness borne of having to deal with the drunken antics of all the people in the valley as a team. “But it’s my niece’s wedding tomorrow, and I need to leave for the city early in the morning.”

Emily gave Gus her signature smile, the one she always had on her face. But this time, it felt just a little bit more forced, like the muscles in her lips and cheeks were being stretched to their full capacity. “Sure, Gus,” she said. “Not a problem at all.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate it,” he said. “I’ll give you a bit of a bonus in your next paycheck.”

“Looking forward to it.” Emily grabbed one of the rags and started working on a sticky liquor stain that Pam had left when she knocked over her cocktail for the third time that night. She usually preferred her alcohol straight, but sometimes Emily noticed she liked to order a fancier drink every now and then when she was in a particularly good mood. Emily was used to noticing things like that about other people, especially after watching them in the saloon for so long. A twitch of the mouth or a simple change in voice could tell her everything she needed to know about a person.

She wondered if anyone ever saw those slight changes with her. Sometimes, she caught Clint, the pudgy blacksmith she’d befriended, staring at her as if she were the light. But she knew with him, he was looking at an idealized version of her, a fantasy that didn’t really exist. He didn’t know her beyond the sunny smiles and cheerful demeanor she showed to everyone else.

Emily hummed to herself as she worked, whatever song happened to be stuck in her head at the time. The emptiness of the bar calmed her. She knew the feeling wouldn’t last when she got home.

When she finally finished, she headed home. The path from the saloon to her and her sister’s house was always the perfect amount of distance, she thought. It was short enough to be convenient on a cold winter’s day, but long enough to enjoy the peacefulness of the valley at night, and the way the stars were sprinkled across the sky. On clear nights, she often walked the whole way home staring up.

The key clicked in her front door, and she pushed it in quietly. She knew Haley had to be asleep upstairs, probably wearing some kind of protective scarf over her hair, a sleep mask, and a green facial treatment. Her sister enjoyed following beauty trends and looking nice, something Emily wished she liked more. Her own short blue hair usually looked scraggly and messy a lot of the time; Haley had commented on it many times.

Emily crept through the kitchen, dismayed to find it a complete mess: dirty dishes piled high in the sink, drinks spilled on the kitchen counters, and crumbs all over the floor. As usual, Haley had done nothing all day—probably sat in front of a mirror preening herself for a few hours, Emily figured, then gone out to take photographs of the different wildlife in town.

After cleaning up the saloon by herself that night, Emily just didn’t have the energy to deal with the disaster her sister had left for her. She yawned and tiptoed up the stairs, sliding into bed.

As she stared up at the ceiling, she wondered how her mom and dad were. She and Haley told everyone in town that they were traveling, but the truth is neither of them had any idea where their parents were. They’d both come home one day to find their mom and dad gone without a trace, as if they’d never even been there to begin with. Emily liked to think that they actually were traveling around the world, having adventures, seeing sights that she could only dream about as she worked late nights and picked up after her sister.

That night, she imagined all of four them on a trip to Egypt, asking strangers to take photos of the four of them, smiling, in front of the Great Pyramids.

* * *

The next day, the kitchen still wasn’t cleaned, and Emily was furious. She’d stumbled downstairs around one in the afternoon, her usual waking time after working such late shifts at the bar, to find Haley watching TV in the living room.

“Goddamn it, Haley, you can’t clean up after yourself just once?” Emily said, snatching the remote and turning off the TV. “This place is a mess.”

“Well, you always clean up everything,” Haley said, shrugging. “I figured you’d just do it again. Seems like you enjoy it.”

“No, I don’t enjoy it, actually.” Emily’s face grew red and hot, a sharp contrast to her normally pale skin. “I work really late hours at the saloon, and I’d really appreciate it if you’d just help out now and again.”

Haley rolled her eyes. “I have better things to do.”

In that instance, Emily felt something in her break. Her entire life since her parents had left was a show, a campaign for winning the town’s Most Optimistic Person. Like maybe if she smiled enough, if she laughed enough, if she pretended to love people enough, she could crush the loneliness that lived in her heart. 

“Like what?” she sputtered. “Fix your makeup? Screw that stupid jock you’re always hanging around with?”

“His name is Alex, you know damn well what it is, and I am not screwing him.” Haley had stood up and was now staring Emily down, just inches away from her face. 

Emily shoved her. Haley stumbled back just slightly, taken aback by Emily’s sudden aggressiveness. “What the fuck?” she said. Tears sprang to her sister’s eyes, welling behind her blue eyes. 

“I just...” Emily backed away. “I’m so tired of taking care of everything. Of having to work these long night shifts, and then clean up after your shit, and meanwhile I feel like everyone just expects me to be this happy-go-lucky person all the damn time.”

Haley didn’t say anything. 

“If Mom and Dad were here, they’d fucking hate you,” Emily spat.

Haley still didn’t say anything as Emily walked out the front door and slammed it behind her.

* * *

That night at the saloon, everything irritated Emily, from the clanking of glasses to the din of conversations just outside of earshot. Her eyes were puffy and raw from crying earlier that afternoon, and she knew she looked rough.

She slammed a beer down on the counter, which was picked up by Shane, one of the regulars at the saloon. He came in every night and drank more than most of the customers there. Shane was a quiet and prickly person, not easily befriended, but the two of them shared a tentative friendship from his frequent visits to the saloon.

He stared at Emily for a moment. “You okay there?” he said, raising the glass to his lips and sucking up some of the foam.

“I’m fine. Just feeling a little bit off today,” Emily said.

“Well, maybe you just need to line up your ‘spiritual energies’ or whatever crap you’re always talking about,” said Shane. Normally, this would be standard fare for their conversations, a back and forth banter that she found somewhat enjoyable. But that night, it grated on her, made her feel like she was stupid and worthless for her interests in less conventional hobbies.

“Yeah, maybe,” said Emily through gritted teeth. She focused her attention on getting out a spot of grime on the counter.

“Look, I get it.” Shane slammed his beer glass down on the counter. “Life’s a piece of shit, and we’re all gonna die anyway.” 

“Can you lay off your pessimistic bullshit for one goddamn second? Not everything is so stupid and terrible all the time,” she snapped, scrubbing more aggressively at the stain.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. He looked almost apologetic, his eyes darting down to the ground. 

“It’s alright. Just been a long week.” She let out a heavy sigh, and her shoulders drooped as she loosened her grip on the cleaning rag.

Shane slid his empty drink across the bar, his usual signal that he was ready for another one. As she snatched the glass to place it under the tap, it slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground. 

“Oh, son of a _bitch_ ,” Emily yelled, moving her feet quickly to dodge the broken glass as it spilled out on the floor. The customers in the saloon turned to stare at her, furrowed eyebrows and confused frowns on their faces. They were used to Emily, the bubbly bartender, not the angry, red faced girl that was currently standing behind the counter. 

“Go back to drinking, assholes. Show’s over,” she said and scrambled around under the bar, looking for a broom and dustpan. Everyone went back to their separate conversations, but the chatter was hushed.

Gus grabbed her gently on the wrist as she reached for the dustpan. “Emily,” he said. “Go home and get some rest.”

“I can work Gus, I’m fine,” she said, yanking her arm away. “Let me work. I need the money.”

“You know I’ll give you enough money.” His expression was concerned, worry etched on his kind features. He reached up to smooth his mustache. “Please, I’m asking you as a friend and as your boss, to go home.”

“Fine.” Emily pushed open the door to the back room and grabbed her coat. As she headed outside, the sharp fall air slashed across her cheeks and made her shiver. She hugged her coat tighter to her body. Her red dress swished around her ankles as she walked. She blinked her eyes a few times, trying to fight off the stinging tears.

That night, she didn’t bother with being careful and quiet as she opened the door, stomping into the living room and throwing her keys on the coffee table. They landed with a sharp jingle. 

“Hey.” Haley was waiting for her on the living room couch, legs crossed, wringing her hands in her lap. When she saw Emily, she stood up. “Come into the kitchen, I want to show you something.”

Emily followed her into the next room. Haley’s blonde hair swished behind her, still perfect and silky even at the end of the day. She stopped at the kitchen table and sat down, the chair scraping across the wooden floor. Emily did the same.

“What do you want?” she said, tugging on her split ends. “I’m still mad, you know.”

“I know,” said Haley. “I wanted to apologize. And give you this.”

She slid a photograph across the table. Emily picked it up and examined it; the photo was of the two of them with their parents, an old one of when they were really young. Haley had her hands on her hips and was sticking her tongue out at Emily, who was laughing and pointing at her. Their parents were in the background, their dad’s strong arms wrapped their mom’s waist as she twisted her head to press a kiss to his cheek.

“I miss them too,” she said softly.

“Where did you get this?” Emily said, letting out a little gasp as she took in all the details of the photo. “Who took this?”

“I found it in their old room,” said Haley, dropping her eyes to the table. “While I was cleaning up the house today.” Her voice wobbled at the last part, lower lip trembling. A few tears streamed down her cheeks.

“It's beautiful. I wish they were here to see it.” It came out barely above a whisper. Emily stood up and walked over to Haley. 

The house was quiet. The two sisters hugged tightly, tears coming down in waves and staining each other’s clothes, a shared grief passing between them. Emily was reminded—in the stillness of that moment—that she’d lost her parents, but she hadn’t lost her sister just yet.


End file.
